Brands of cheaper kitten foods that are ok

Our kitten is 25 weeks now and she has been on Royal Canin since we got her. She does fine on it but we just can not afford it right now. I have tried 4health a while back and she can't handle that without it coming back up. I got a sample of the Blue buffalo from a rep. at Petco and she loved it but again money is very tight right now and we just can't do it. We are switching the dog over to 4 health and I hope he does well on that because it seems pretty good but cheap!

So I am looking for a food we can afford right now but that is an ok food. My husband thinks we should try either Iams or Purina One. I occasionally try to give her canned food but she is not crazy about it at all. Eventually we will get the kitten and dog back on better food but right now it is a must that we downgrade.

The 4 health we tried is for all stages and I don't know what is in it that she can't have. I do know it has milk in it and idk if that's what bothers her or not or if it's just too big because she seems to not handle bigger pieces well.

Thanks for any advice!

at six months you can talk with the vet to see if adult food is okay... If vet says okay to adult.. Do you have a Costco near ? Kirkland is a very good premium food for a rock bottom price( 25lbs is under 16$)... If kitten is still needed , look for feed store and look at nutro and chicken soup and diamond ...

I know the 4health I've looked at had fruits and veggies in it. Some cats can't handle that.

If you have a petsmart they have their own brand, Authority, that is around the same price as Iams and Purina One but is much better. If you get their store card you can get some small discount and they'll send you coupons from time to time. They'll even sometimes have sales on it.

10 years ago I raised some very healthy kittens on Iams, and used it for ferret food, too. It used to be a pretty good food. Now I probably wouldn't use it. The quality has really gone downhill. If those end up being your ONLY choices, I'd say that Purina ONE is slightly better.

I would recommend Taste of the Wild. It's not specifically for kittens but it is an all-life-stages formula. Since you got 4Health for the dogs I know you shop at TSC. . .TOTW is $22.99 for the 15-pound bag. I have never priced the smaller bags, LOL, but it is comparable in price to Iams and Purina ONE. Diamond Naturals Active Cat is another good one, and a bit cheaper. I think they have it at TSC (I buy mine at a smaller feed store where it's cheaper). Chicken Soup for kittens would be good, but I don't know where you'd be able to find it. Check their website to see if there's a store near you that sells it.

Originally Posted by Willowy

If those end up being your ONLY choices, I'd say that Purina ONE is slightly better.

Click to expand...

Purina has added soy into One now.

I get so confused with all of the food out there! I know they say corn is bad so the Purina One and Iams are bad but yet the Royal Canin she is on and the Nutro have corn and the Nutro has wheat. It all gets so confusing as to what they really need and what is junk. The Purina One has a high amount of protein but yet it has corn so i thought well then it's junk but I look at the RC she is on and it has a few different types of corn and I am paying a fortune for it!

So can you explain if corn makes the cheap brands junk why is it in the better brands? (Nutro and One)

I am starting to see ingredient lables in my head!!

Originally Posted by calkit

I get so confused with all of the food out there! I know they say corn is bad so the Purina One and Iams are bad but yet the Royal Canin she is on and the Nutro have corn and the Nutro has wheat. It all gets so confusing as to what they really need and what is junk. The Purina One has a high amount of protein but yet it has corn so i thought well then it's junk but I look at the RC she is on and it has a few different types of corn and I am paying a fortune for it!

So can you explain if corn makes the cheap brands junk why is it in the better brands? (Nutro and One)

I am starting to see ingredient labels in my head!!

Click to expand...

Corn gluten in nutro is a Protein that is roughly 66-76% digestible to a cat... corn , corn grit , grd corn is the whole kernel or carb fractions of it which are only 30-50% digestible ... In the one check for soy to be adding to the overall protein...

You want name of meat meal first or second if the main ingredient is a named meat ... NOT by product meal which can be a high % of bone... Ie you do not want the Main protein to be a grain or starch

If you check the cheaper or lower quality as some $$$ are not quality you will find lots of protein from grains, starch or legumes

It's true that RC and Nutro aren't much better than Purina ONE. . .you can't judge a food by its price! I prefer no by-products in a dry food. The ones I listed don't have by-products. Also the CostCo Kirkland brand food is pretty good. If you have a CostCo in the area.